The changing nature of family

The Nature of Family Law

Define: Family Two or more persons, one of whom is at least

15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering; and who are usually resident in the same household.

The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship.

Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.

(ABS, 2005b, para. 21)

It is important to keep in mind that the concept of "family" is neither unitary nor unchanging.

It involves the drawing of boundaries delineating "who is in" and "who is out", with the boundaries changing as individuals move through their life course.

The boundaries drawn by analysts and policy-makers vary according to the purpose behind their focus on families, and even members of the same household may hold different ideas about whether a particular co-resident is a member of their "family". 

The greatest changes are apparent in the representation of the two most common family forms

Sources: Hugo, G. (2001); Cat. No. 1301.0); ABS 2006 & 2011 Censuses

https://aifs.gov.au/publications/australian-households-and-families

In 1976, couple families with dependent children predominated (representing 48% of all families), while only 28% were couple-only families.

By 2006, these two family types were equally common, with each representing 37% of all families.

In 2011, however, couple-only families were marginally more common than couple families with dependent children (38% vs 37%).

What does a modern family look like?

Stats taken from Australian Institute of Family Studies report 2004

https://aifs.gov.au/publications/diversity-and-change-australian-families

Nuclear family

Couple families with dependent children now form a minority of households, families, and couple families and represent a declining percentage of families (a 20 per cent decline between 1976 and 2001). However, couple families represent the vast majority of families in which children live.

Blended family

10.7 per cent of families with a child under 18 are step or blended families. Children in step or blended families mainly live with their mother.

Same-sex family

2004 report: Same sex couples represent a small proportion of household couples (0.5 per cent), with 20 per cent of female same sex couple households and 5 per cent of male same sex couple households containing children.

2013 report: About 11% of Australian gay men and 33% of lesbians have children. Children may have been conceived in the context of previous heterosexual relationships, or raised from birth by a co-parenting gay or lesbian couple or single parent.

Extended family

1.8 per cent of households contained two or more families. Indigenous Australians (12.6 per cent) and Australians born in Asia, Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa are much more likely to live in multi-family households.

Single parent family

Lone parent families, including those with dependent children, are becoming more common (7.1 per cent in 1969 to 22.3 per cent in 2003 of families with dependent children). Almost 27 per cent of children spend some time up to the age of 18 living in a lone parent family.

The main route to lone parenting is via relationship breakdown.

Defacto family

According to the ABS, the last decade has seen almost 3/4 of people who decided to get married lived together first. Australia has also seen a drop in the percentage of people registered to be married from 62% in 1986, to 55% in 2006. During the same period, the number of people that were involved in a de facto relationship more than doubled from 4% to 9%.

The law has reflected this shift by making amendments to the Family Law Act protecting maintenance and property rights, especially if a de facto relationship has come to an end.

Adoptive family

A 2014 report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that adoptions in Australia have hit an all-time low. There were only 317 adoptions in Australia in 2013-14, down 9 per cent from the previous year and 76 per cent from 1989-90.

Similarly, a new research report from Women's Forum Australia, "Adoption Rethink", highlights that Australia has one of the lowest rates of adoption amongst OECD countries, particularly in relation to adoptions from care. This is particularly concerning given that there are currently nearly 40,000 Australian children living in out of home care (OOHC).

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/australias-adoption-laws-failing-our-children-reports-suggest-20141217-128l4i.html#ixzz3hBTrmAUH

Couple-only family

There has been a rise in the percentage of couple families. In 2001 they represented 35.6 per cent of all families, compared with 28.7 per cent in 1982. Further, of couple families with and without children, in 2001, 43.2 per cent had no children living with them - an increase from 37 per cent in 1982. By far the largest proportion of child-free couples are older people whose children have left home.

Polygamous marriage

In Australia it is illegal to enter into a polygamous marriage.

But the federal government recognises relationships that have been legally recognised overseas, including polygamous marriages. This allows second wives and children to claim welfare and benefits.